Chapter 69: Violet

I took a deep breath and looked down at the book in front of me. I felt better, still nervous but better. She was right, I should just let Simon know. He wouldn’t be upset or laugh at me. He was my mate, my other half, and he would want me to be comfortable and happy. I had nothing to worry about. And who’s to say that it was going to happen soon anyway.

I scoffed at that thought. “Who am I kidding?” I said out loud. He could make me wet with a look and a mere touch had my stomach clenching with want. I shook my head trying to focus on the pages in front of me.

I leaned back against the pillows and propped the book up on my knees. With the excitement of the day, my body was tired, and I could feel my lids getting heavy, until everything around me was black.

I awoke to a dark room and someone kissing my forehead. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Simon’s voice broke through the darkness.

“What time is it?” I looked around the room trying to find a clock.

“It’s almost seven. I was going to grab you some dinner and bring it to you for later.”

“I slept for six hours? I wasted so much time.”

Simon clicked on the bedside light. “You were tired.” He sat next to me on the bed. “A lot happened today.”

“I feel like I wasted the day.” I turned to my side facing Simon.

He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. “It’s ok. There’s always tomorrow. I finished all the paperwork, so I can help you more tomorrow.”

I gave him a half smile.

“Are you hungry?”

I nodded my head as my stomach growled. “I haven’t eaten since this morning, when you brought me breakfast.”

“I’m a terrible mate for letting you go hungry.” He brushed the hair away from my face. “Let’s go get some grub and then we can come back, relax, and watch a movie or something.”

‘Or something’ were his words. I wonder if he was implying sex as the ‘or something.’ “That sounds good.” I said raising up onto my elbows. “I haven’t changed my clothes since yesterday.” I looked down at my wrinkled dress, that I wore on our first official date.

“You can change if you want, but you look gorgeous no matter what.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead again.

“I think I’ll change really quick.” I slid off the bed and walked to the dresser that held my clothes. I grabbed a sweater that would hang off my shoulders and a pair of thick leggings. Nothing too fancy, but something that apparently was in now. I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. The yellowing from my bruise was finally gone. I quickly changed out of my dirty clothes and into clean ones.

I walked out of the bathroom with my dirty clothes in hand. I looked at Simon. “What do I do with my dirty clothes?”

“Honestly, I just leave them on the floor, and they miraculously get picked up and cleaned.” He chuckled.

“That’s awful.” I smirked at him. “You’re a grown man. You should be able to do your own laundry sometimes.”

“I have maids and house staff to do those sorts of things for me. Because if it were up to me, my entire house would be a mess.” He leaned forward, grabbed my ball of clothes and tossed them next to the closet door. “And when we come back your clothes will be gone.” He waved his hands in front of them like he was going to make them disappear.

I shook my head at him and bit my lip. His eyes darted down to my mouth and closed the space between us.

His mouth was inches away from me. “You’re driving me insane when you do that.”

My heart flipped; I could feel him breathing me in. So close but not joining.

“You really should be careful.”

I took a second to find my voice. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes.”

I hesitated. “Why is that?”

He leaned in next to my ear and whispered. “Because this big bad wolf will eat you up.”

My heart flipped again, and my lower abdomen clenched with need. A guttural sound came from Simon’s throat as he looked me in my eyes. He leaned in and kissed me gently.

He pulled away slightly. “We should get downstairs, before we miss dinner.” He pulled away further leaving me in this state of want. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door.

“You’re terrible.” I exhaled.

“I know.” He laughed. “But you love me anyway.”

I let myself be pulled behind Simon. Did I love him? I felt more at home with him than I did with anyone else. Fate put us together knowing that we were meant to be. Every time I was around him, my heart seemed to skip a beat. With only a few words he could make me wet. When I had to leave him, I felt sad and couldn’t wait until I saw him again. I guess I do love him.

As he pulled me down the hall, he turned to look at me. He had a smile on his face, he was so happy. “What’s wrong?” His face dropped slightly.

I smiled at him. “Nothing. I was just thinking.”

“You look serious.” He stopped halfway down the hall. “You can tell me anything.” He grabbed my shoulders and stared down at me.

I almost bit my lip but tried to refrain. I looked into his eyes. “I was just thinking about what you said before.”

His face dropped even more. “Oh shit, what did I say?” He turned away and ran a hand down his face.

“Nothing bad.” I took his hand and looked at him. “You said, ‘but you love me anyway’ and I was just thinking about that.”

His face remained serious. “I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything. I was just talking.”

I put a finger to his lips to stop him from talking. “Would you calm down?” My heart flipped. I was about to say something to him that I have never said to a man not in my family. “You were right.”

He looked at me not sure what I meant.

“I do love you.” I gave him a small smile. “It makes no sense at all, and I only known you a few days. But I love you.” I exhaled.

His face lit up, and a smile formed behind the finger that I held against his mouth. He took my hand in his hand. His eyes were soft. “I love you, too.” He cupped his other hand against my face and kissed me. It wasn’t a deep kiss. But one that showed his words were true. He pulled away and stared into my eyes.

My stomach gurgled loudly, breaking this sweet moment. “Can we eat before I die from starvation?”

“Anything you want, my love.” Simon took my hand and guided me to the dining hall.